The Elegant Variation: JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM

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June 08, 2007

JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM

Sorry to step back out on Katherine's toes yet again but when a fit of pique grabs us, we must respond.

In yesterday's Rocky Mountain News, editor Patti Thorn apologizes for reviewer Jenny Shanks's remarks about Sherman Alexie's lastest, noted here earlier:

In light of Alexie's gesture, it's easy to see why he was stung by the review. "You're exposed as a writer," says Entrekin. "To pile on with the indication that the publisher wasn't supportive of (the book) ... was kind of the last straw, obviously."

So my deep apologies to Alexie, Entrekin — and Shank. I should have offered better guidance.

She also should have offered a better closing to her column, which ends thus:

And now, here's hoping we can all shake it off and get back to work. Note to blogosphere: fight finished.

Which gives the impression that nasty bloggers were needlessly stoking this flame, which certainly might not be hard to believe under normal circumstances. But since we're all setting the records straight, we should point out that in this case, Jenny Shank actually wrote directly to this blog - as she surely did to others - to draw attention to herself, seeking links to her post and her plight. So, Ms. Thorn, your "note to the blogosphere" should start at home.

Posted at 10:45 AM in Words Fail | Permalink

Comments

I take sharp objection to the idea that my blog's coverage of this contretemps constitutes a "fight" with the Rocky Mountain News, Sherman Alexie, Black Cat, or anybody else for that matter. As you say, Shanks dropped us a note about Alexie's outrage over her comments; I found the story interesting, and I commented upon it. I may not have found Alexie's defense 100% convincing, but I'm a skeptic by nature.

There's a broader question, perhaps, of whether a book review is even a place for such outside-the-text ruminations on the nature of the publishing industry and how/why an individual book gets published, but she didn't do anything that you won't find people doing in big city book reviews from time to time, even the NYTBR.

Posted by: Ron Hogan | June 08, 2007 at 12:41 PM

Regardless of whether Patti wants to blame bloggers or not for flaming the fire here (which is not true), the end of the story is that a questionable statement about an author's work was placed in a review and she admits there was no way to verify it - but she ran it anyway.

Alexie and the folks at Black Cat had a right to be ticked off by it - I wouldn't have responded like he did, but the guy gets to be mad at some $50 a review freelancer saying his publisher made a decision that his work wasn't good enough for hardcover. This is the kind of lazy writing (and far worse - lazy editing) that the lit blogopshere gets accused of all the time.

Patti Thorn needs to grow up and take full responsiblity for her screw-ups and not try to deflect it onto the blogosphere.

Posted by: Colleen | June 08, 2007 at 03:27 PM

Once again, the arrogant print establishment draws an us-versus-them line with the blogosphere. Sad.

Posted by: Pete | June 09, 2007 at 09:47 AM

The comments to this entry are closed.

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The Elegant Variation is "Fowler’s (1926, 1965) term for the inept writer’s overstrained efforts at freshness or vividness of expression. Prose guilty of elegant variation calls attention to itself and doesn’t permit its ideas to seem naturally clear. It typically seeks fancy new words for familiar things, and it scrambles for synonyms in order to avoid at all costs repeating a word, even though repetition might be the natural, normal thing to do: The audience had a certain bovine placidity, instead of The audience was as placid as cows. Elegant variation is often the rock, and a stereotype, a cliché, or a tired metaphor the hard place between which inexperienced or foolish writers come to grief. The familiar middle ground in treating these homely topics is almost always the safest. In untrained or unrestrained hands, a thesaurus can be dangerous."

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The Elegant Variation

A Literary Weblog.
A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog
"Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

June 08, 2007

JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM

Comments

MY NOVEL

WORTHY READINGS

TEV DEFINED

RECOMMENDED

THIS GUN FOR HIRE:
Reviews & Criticism

SECOND LOOK

Categories

The Elegant Variation

A Literary Weblog. A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog "Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

June 08, 2007

JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM

Comments

MY NOVEL

WORTHY READINGS

TEV DEFINED

RECOMMENDED

THIS GUN FOR HIRE: Reviews & Criticism

SECOND LOOK

Categories

A Literary Weblog.
A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog
"Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

THIS GUN FOR HIRE:
Reviews & Criticism